Wantagh Herald 02-02-2023

Youngsters are learning coding

Full STEAM ahead for kids

District elementary students take part in innovate class

By KEPHERD DANiEl kdaniel@liherald.com

From robotics to engineering and coding, elementary schools in Wantagh are finding innovative new ways to get students engaged in learning through STEAM classes.

STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, and the program focuses on project-based learning and taking an in-depth look into a variety of topics.

Three cheers for local cheer

Wantagh joins Levittown, Seaford at nationals

By MiCHAEl MAlASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com

Wantagh High School’s cheerleading team has earned a bid to the national cheerleading competition in Florida later this month.

It’s another feather in the cap of the greater Wantagh-Seaford area — Seaford High School’s cheer team also will be going to nationals, as will MacArthur High School’s team.

“This is the first year that we’re going from the small to medium division — the first time in Wantagh history,” Jaclyn Bonlarron, one of the coaches for the team, said. “We got our choreography in the fall, and the girls have

been working on their routine since.”

Wantagh’s cheer team had to work extra hard this year, since the football team had a successful season. Their time performing at football games overlapped with cheer competitions, so they had to do both. As well, they took part in “Operation Christmas Child,” a charity toy drive spearheaded by cheerleader Kayla Spisto.

Cheerleading is a year-round sport, with the cheerleaders practicing in the offseason — spring and summer — at gyms outside of school to hold on to their form. August is when tryouts start. In addition to performing at football games, they prepare for competition.

Continued on page 19

getting into their ear about their future,” Humphrey said. “Some of the kids statistically are going to be coders, and some of them are going to be engineers, but we are just trying to give them 21stcentury skills that we didn’t get.”

they’re really learning through selfdiscovery.

Leading the way for Wantagh students are their STEAM teachers, Kaitlin Humphrey and Alexa Del Piano. Del Piano is serving her second year as a STEAM teacher at Forest Lake Elementary School and she also teaches at Mandalay Elementary School. Humphrey, a K-5 teacher at Wantagh Elementary School and a STEAM teacher for seven years, said she encourages her students to think about the skills they could use outside the classroom.

AlExA DEl PiANo teacher, Forest Lake Elementary School

Wantagh Elementary third, fourth and fifth graders all complete a prototype project in the fall, going through the engineering and design process, making their own individual projects, and improving them along the way. Students end up devising advertisements for their projects so they could really see a potential job for them in the future.

The STEAM class is not only designed to get students to develop critical thinking skills but also to make them excited to be in school, educators said.

“A lot of them get a little discouraged in the classroom, especially learners who struggle, they tend to do really well here,” Humphrey said.

“A lot of this class is about me

Everything within the STEAM class is hands-on, from Continued on page 4

Michael MalaszczykHerald

KAtiE SAVAgE, FAR left, a Wantagh cheer coach, with senior captains Emily Drago, Jessica Balkunas and Ava Lombardo, and coach Jaclyn Bonlarron. All are heading to nationals in Florida.

Peter King debuts new opinion column

Former congressman has no intention of slowing down in retirement

By MICHAEL HINMAN mhinman@liherald.com

Not even retirement can slow down Peter King. After 28 years in the U.S. House — including a two-year stint as chair of the House Homeland Security Committee — as well as more than two decades serving on both the Hempstead town council and as Nassau County comptroller, King finds himself busier than ever.

He’s working with a Washington law firm, and does consulting work for Northwell Health. He makes regular appearances on the Newsmax cable channel, as well as John Catsimatidis’s 77WABC radio station.

But now King is adding one more job to that list as a new regular columnist for Herald Community Newspapers. The former congressman’s first official piece appears in this week’s Opinions pages.

“It’s not like I have to catch a plane to get to Washington, or I’m at the whim of what’s the last vote going to be on Thursday night or Friday night,” King said. “I pretty much plan my own schedule. And the best feeling I had — and it took me about a month to get used to — is waking up in the morning and knowing I can go back to sleep if I want to.”

These days, King finds himself solely

focused on life here at home. But for nearly three decades, the congressman was caught between the two worlds of Washington and his district back in New York.

The trick in the beginning was making

Jack Healy/Herald file

sure he never lost sight of why he was on the House floor in the first place.

“When you’re in Washington, you’re still responsible for a lot of local issues, because the local mayors and supervisors

and town boards — they’re going to be calling you and reaching out for help,” King said. “I think with a number of members of Congress, they’re so concerned with the international and national aspects of it, they forget the guy living down the block.

“The guy that lives in Highland Park. The guy that lives in Seaford. That’s where you base comes from. So, really, the challenge is to keep all of those things in your mind, and be able to sort through them all.”

King has made no secret about his support of U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, whose congressional district covers much of what King’s did back in the day. In fact, his first column focuses on the high hopes King has of his protégé, and how the sky’s the limit for the former town councilman.

“I mean, Anthony, we talk several times a week,” King said. “I don’t want to sound like I am telling him what to do, or giving him some great advice. But maybe one thing I can be most helpful on is telling him early on which members of Congress you can pay attention to, and which others to just ignore.

“Some of them you try to take seriously, but then you realize after a month or two that these guys are cranks, and nobody else is listening to them, except you.”

Carini, D’Esposito voice concerns to board

By MICHAEL MALASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com

New York City police officer Anthony Dwyer, of Elmont, had a whole life ahead of him cut short when burglary suspect Eddie Matos pushed him off a roof and down an airshaft in 1989.

Dwyer lied there for nearly an hour and didn’t survive, dying at only 23 years of age. His killer, Matos, 22 at the time, was convicted of murder the next year. He was sentenced to 25 years to life behind bars.

Now, Matos will face the parole board for a fifth time, having been denied parole as recently as 2018 and 2020.

But two of Dwyer’s former colleagues –who also serve as Wantagh-Seaford’s representatives at different levels of government – have implored the parole board not to release Matos.

Christopher Carini represents the fifth district on the Town of Hempstead council. He served 22 years as a police officer, working in the New York City Police Department, the MTA Police Department, Port Authority of New York, and the New Jersey Police Department. Carini represents Lido Beach, Point Lookout, Baldwin, Bellmore, Freeport, Merrick, Wantagh, and Seaford.

“Those who kill police officers directly attack our democracy by attacking those who protect our freedoms,” Carini wrote in his letter. “There is no rehabilitation for a convicted cop killer – Eddie Matos should be made into an example, never to walk the streets again as a free man.”

Anthony D’Esposito once sat alongside Carini on the Town of Hempstead Council, but has since been elected to the United States House of Representatives, defeating former Town Supervisor Laura Gillen for the vacant seat in November.

D’Esposito has hit the ground running since he was elected to represent the fourth district, already volunteering to

Carini and D’Esposito’s letters

Both Christopher Carini and Anthony D’Esposito have submitted letters to the parole board urging them not to grant convicted killer Eddie Matos parole. Carini’s can be viewed at tinyurl.com/cariniletter, while D’Esposito’s can be viewed at tinyurl.com/despositoletter.

in the past, leading the department when Hurricane Sandy ravaged the South Shore.

take calls from controversial Rep. George Santos’s constituents in the third district – as the Nassau County GOP has frozen out Santos.

But D’Esposito is also a veteran of the New York Police Department, having served in their ranks as a detective. He is also a firefighter, having served as the chief of the Island Park Fire Department

“Dwyer left behind a loving family, including his parents, Ed and Marge, his sister Maureen, and two brothers, Lawrence and Andrew,” D’Esposito wrote. “Eddie Matos’ actions ripped a young man away from his family, devastated a community, and left all New Yorkers in mourning over the loss of a law enforcement hero. It is my firm belief that this heinous killer deserves to spent the rest of his years in prison.”

Eddie Matos is set to appear in front of the board sometime in March. It will be Matos’s fifth time attempting to gain parole after the murder of Anthony Dwyer, with all four of his previous attempts denied.

King Singh meets blood donor who saved his life

By MICHAEL MALASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com

If it was not for blood donations, our son would not be here.

MICHAEL SINgH Father of King Singh

King Singh, a nine-year-old, was born with a rare blood disease called glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase deficiency, also known as G6PD. G6PD causes red blood cells to break down in response to certain medications, infections, or other stressors. As there is no cure for this disease, the only life-saving treatment is a blood transfusion when the red cells break down from a trigger. At the age of two, King was also diagnosed with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer. After three and a half years of intense, daily chemotherapy treatments and blood transfusions, Singh is now cancer free. Part of why King Singh and his family can say that is thanks to Ron Hlawaty and the Levittown Fire Department.

“To go and donate blood is probably the most human thing anybody could do,” Ron Hlawaty said. “And it’s a very simple process. To donate a pint of blood takes about an hour from start to finish. And it’s amazing to see how grateful the families are, the families of the people who needed that blood.”

Patients like King Singh rarely get to meet and thank the blood donors who saved their life. But in a special event on Jan. 26, he got that opportunity. The Levittown

Fire Department hosted a blood drive, and in attendance were Singh and Hlawaty.

Hlawaty is a lifetime blood donor with more than 300 blood donations, and he serves as the chairperson for this blood drive at the Levittown Fire Department. Singh and Hlawaty have only met once before at an event last fall.

“Donating blood is extremely important and it’s vital

for children like King who have blood diseases that have no cause,” Michael Singh, King’s father, said. “Nothing he did made him be born with these diseases, it’s just bad luck. If it was not for blood donations, our son would not be here. We’re grateful for the Levittown Fire Department for hosting this blood drive to give back to children and other families that may need it.”

REP. ANTHONY D’ESPOSITO, left, and Councilman Christopher Carini are both former police officers, and currently represent Wantagh-Seaford at the federal and local level, respectively. Both have written letters to the state parole board not to let Eddie Matos, who was convicted of killing a police officer in 1990, out of prison.

Tim Baker/Herald file Michael Malaszczyk/Herald

Neil Miller/Herald RON HLAwATY, LEfT, chairman of the Levittown blood drive, alongside Shamedza Singh, Faith Singh, King Singh, Mussiah Singh, and Michael Singh. Hlawaty is one of the blood donors who saved King Singh’s life.

STEAM offers innovative ways of learning

kindergarten to fifth grade. The STEAM class continues to evolve and send students off to middle school with the skills they need for life after the classroom. The course concentrates on inquiry-based learning, where students pose a question and discover the answer on their own. Students reconvene toward the end of class to discuss the findings of their project.

Del Piano, a first-grade teacher in the New York City school system before arriving at Wantagh, discussed some of the changes to her teaching approach she has made with the STEAM class.

“They’re really learning through selfdiscovery,” Del Piano said. “I initially wanted to give them all the vocabulary they needed, all the examples, and the step-by-step guides to follow. The hardest part is finding that balance between providing the information but still letting them discover things on their own and find their own answers to their questions.”

These students work on robotics and coding, which is learning how to communicate with computers, and many go home to their own coding clubs and then return to STEAM class excited to learn more, teachers said. STEAM students do a lot of engineering design processes, robotics and coding. One engineering lesson involves finding how to build a house that can withstand a rainstorm and the different materials they could use. STEAM teachers are given the freedom to meet the needs of their kids and engage in creative projects.

“It’s really nice that they can use their creativity here,” Del Piano said. “It’s nice to give them an outlet where they’re doing all hands-on activities and about solving all these problems themselves.”

From robotics and prototypes to fifth graders making electromagnetic cranes, creativity is free flowing for Wantagh’s elementary students. Soon the STEAM class will make Rube Goldberg machines, using a chain reaction of simple machines, such as levers, pulleys and cranks, to make a complex machine. Humphrey said she hopes to implement a new first-time project, with fifth-grade STEAM students building a mini-golf course.

”It gives a lot of freedom because there are so many open-ended questions and so many different findings,” Del Piano said of the joy in teaching the innovative class.

“You’re not rushing through any certain

topic and you’re making sure that they fully understand whatever the first step is before moving on, and it gives us more freedom to help them make connections to the real world as well.”

WantagH steam students work on coding as a part of their robotics project.

Forest laKe steam teacher Alexa Del Piano, above left, assists her students as they learn coding and robotics.

HOW TO REACH US

Kepherd Daniel/Herald photos

Kaitlin HumpHrey’s steam class at Wantagh Elementary was looking forward to a handful of creative projects this school year.

Current state of emergency in Nassau may be illegal

By MARK NOLAN mnolan@liherald.com

Nassau County may have illegally declared a state of emergency for cybersecurity — a declaration that was not even known until revealed in a letter to a reporter by a county official.

Deputy County Attorney Gregory Kalnitsky confirmed the existence of a state of emergency in response to a request for more information on a cybersecurity contract approved by the county Legislature’s Rules Committee in December. The Herald sought basic information about the agreement, including who the contract is with, and how much it will cost taxpayers.

“The county executive and Nassau County Legislature enacted a local state of emergency with respect to the county of Nassau’s cybersecurity and information technology assets,” Kalnitsky wrote in a letter, without providing further details.

State law generally requires a government body like a county legislature to announce the need of an executive session during a public meeting, provide a specific reason for such a session, and then hold a public vote on whether to allow such a session to take place.

While New York state laws are a bit broad on what can be discussed in executive session, they generally prohibit any action by formal vote that would spend public dollars.

A review of the December public meeting does include an announcement of an executive session and a vote. All that was provided for its reason, however, was a control number for the cybersecurity contract the legislature was set to approve.

“It is a clear violation of the open meetings law to appropriate public funds in a closed-door private meeting, if that is what occurred,” said Paul Wolf, president of the independent New York Coalition for Open Government.

“Any vote to spend taxpayer dollars — even in an emergency situation — should occur in public.”

The contract came on the heels of a massive computer network hack in Suffolk County that shut down government services there temporarily, and is said to have cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Nassau lawmakers voted unanimously to enter into executive session on Dec. 5 to discuss “E-137-22,” which was listed in the agenda as a shared services agreement between the county’s information and technology department and an unnamed vendor.

After an hour of deliberation behind closed doors, the Legislature reconvened without publicly discussing the contract, or anything else — including a state of emergen-

cy declaration.

But that declaration is exactly what lawmakers were deciding on in secret, according to one county source who declined to be identified because of the legal nature of executive sessions. No documents regarding a state of emergency were filed with the county clerk, according to the source, which is typically a required procedure.

Chris Boyle, spokesman for County Executive Bruce Blakeman, has not responded to requests for comment. County officials in the past said they would not reveal any details about its new cybersecurity plan — including the vendor’s name or cost — over claims it would make the county vulnerable to attack.

Shoshanah Bewlay, executive director of New York’s Committee on Open Government — a state-sponsored watchdog on government transparency — said specific details of the contract, if made public, could provide hackers with information to mount a cyberattack. However, more broad details about the agreement — like cost — don’t enjoy that level of shielding, and should be made available to public review under state law.

“While a portion of the contract may be exempt from disclosure for one or more statutory reasons, in my opinion, certain portions of the record should be made available,” said Bewlay, who can only operate in an advisory capacity, and cannot force Nassau County to comply.

Regarding the county’s Dec. 5 executive session, Bewlay agreed with Wolf that votes to spend public money must be made in public.

“The open meetings law makes it clear that you cannot vote to appropriate public money behind closed doors in executive session,” Bewlay said. “You can certainly discuss it. However, upon reaching agreement on the matter in the executive session, the board would have to come back on the record and vote to approve the contract in open session.”

Tim Baker/Herald

The sTATe’s OpeN meetings law provides a narrow set of justifications for a government body to enter into executive session — a meeting to which the public is not invited.

spotlight athlete

MacArthur eyes conference repeat

By aNDReW CoeN sports@liherald.com

The MacArthur girls’ basketball team is in line for a possible repeat conference title powered by strong depth and chemistry.

The Generals (13-3) closed the month of January riding an eight game winning streak and have posted victories in 11 of 12 games after an 0-2 start. All the wins but one have been in double digits with different players leading the way in each contest.

BeNJaMiN VelasQUeZ

MacArthur Senior Wrestling

a CoUNtY seMiFiNalist last winter and eventual third-place finisher in the 189-pound weight class, Velasquez is looking to cap his high school career with a Nassau wrestling crown. Heading into this Saturday’s county qualifier tournament at Bellmore-JFK, he is ranked No. 1 in the county at 215 pounds. After winning 21 of 30 matches last winter, his record this season stands at 36-3.

gaMes to WatCh

thursday, Feb. 2

Girls Basketball: Carey at Roosevelt 5 p.m.

Girls Basketball: Mineola at Wantagh 5 p.m.

Girls Basketball: Syosset at Freeport 7 p.m.

Girls Basketball: West Hemp at East Rockaway 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 3

Boys Basketball: South Side at Kennedy 4:30 p.m.

Boys Basketball: G.N. South at Calhoun 5 p.m.

Boys Basketball: V.S. Central at East Meadow 5 p.m.

Boys Basketball: East Rockaway at West Hemp 5 p.m.

Girls Basketball: Port Washington at Oceanside 5 p.m.

Girls Basketball: MacArthur at Long Beach 5 p.m.

Boys Basketball: Locust Valley at Seaford 7 p.m.

Girls Basketball: North Shore at Clarke 7 p.m.

Girls Basketball: Jericho at Mepham 7 p.m.

Boys Basketball: Westbury at Baldwin 7 p.m.

saturday, Feb. 4

Wrestling: Nassau County Division 1 Qualifying Tournaments hosted by Long Beach, Hewlett, Bellmore-JFK, Plainedge and Uniondale 9:30 a.m.

Girls Basketball: Lynbrook at Mineola 12 p.m.

Girls Basketball: Kennedy at South Side 12 p.m.

Boys Basketball: Clarke at North Shore 12 p.m.

Boys Basketball: Long Beach at MacArthur 12 p.m.

“I’ve been around a while and the chemistry on this team is better than any team I’ve had,” ninth-year head coach Dave Radtke said. “The older kids really have taken the younger kids under their wing and there is no selfishness.”

MacArthur’s team-oriented approach is evident in its latest triumph—a commanding 61-33 win against New Hyde Park last Friday— in which five players recorded six points or more led by 14 from Ava Angiuli and 10 from Marissa Cardon.

The dominating win, which improved the Generals to a perfect 8-0 in Conference A-1, also featured seven points apiece from Sara Kealey and Lexi Thompson and six by Ani Angelakis.

The New Hyde Park victory was MacArthur’s first game in six days and followed a 57-45 win at Jericho in which three players registered double figures paced by Cardon’s 16, 11 from Thompson and 10 by Angiuli.

“Teams can’t just focus on one player,” said Radtke of his many scoring options with his fast-paced offense. “I’ve coached against some teams and they stand around waiting for one player to score and we don’t do that. I’ve given the girls free rein and said ‘if you’re open shoot the ball.”

While most of MacArthur’s wins have not been closely contested, the General also showed ability to win a game that came down to the wire with its 55-52 victory against Calhoun on Jan. 10 that propelled the Generals into first place in league play. Kealey hit a clutch free throw down the scratch to help MacArthur hold off Calhoun’s comeback attempt. Cardon led the offense with 18 points followed by

10 each from Angiuli and Meaghan Campbell.

“That win showed a lot because in years past when it got real tight towards the end we would panic,” Radtke said. “They stepped up and hit some big shots.”

MacArthur takes the court for the first of its remaining four games Wednesday against Mepham at 7 p.m. before a road game at Long Beach Friday at. 5 p.m. The remaining schedule is highlighted by a rematch with Calhoun in North Merrick

on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. that could decide who captures the conference title.

“We won the conference last year so it’d be nice to go back to back because that’s never been done in school history,” said Radtke, who also led MacArthur to a league championship during an abridged 2021 season played without a postseason due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse but somebody is really going to have to play an A game to beat us.”

Ron Manfredi/Herald MaRissa CaRDoN sCoReD 10 points last Friday as the Generals stayed hot and atop Conference A-1 with a victory over New Hyde Park.

THE TOP 3 FINALISTS IN

KIDS & EDUCATION

ADULT EDUCATION - CONTINUING ED:

Hempstead Adult & Community Education Program

Hofstra University

Molloy University

ART SCHOOL:

Hue Studio

Long Island High School for the Arts

The Art Studio

BEAUTY SCHOOL:

Long Island Nail Skin & Hair Institute

Long Island Beauty School

Nassau BOCES Joseph M. Barry Career & Technical Education Center

CHARTER/PAROCHIAL/PRIVATE:

Bellmore United Methodist Nursery School

Kellenberg Memorial High School

Lawrence Woodmere Academy

COLLEGE PREP SERVICES/ADVISORS:

College Connection

Lockwood College Prep

Pinnacle College Consultants

COLLEGE PRESIDENT:

Dr. Susan Poser - Hofstra University

James Lentini - Molloy University

Maria P. Conzatti - Nassau Community College

COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY:

Hofstra University

Molloy University

Nassau Community College

DANCE SCHOOL:

Dance Workshop

Hart & Soul Performing Arts and Dance School

Long Island Academy of Dance

DAY CAMP:

Big Chief Day School & Camp

Coleman Country Day Camp

Lawrence Woodmere Academy

Rolling River Day Camp

DAY CARE:

Big Chief Day School & Camp

Five Towns Early Learning Center

Our Kids Place

DRIVING SCHOOL:

Bell Auto Driving School

East Meadow Driving School

Prosperity Auto Driving School, Inc

GYMNASTICS CENTER:

All Stars Gymnastics Inc

Gold Medal Gymnastics Center

Platinum Athletic

B&B/INN:

Hampton Inn Jericho-Westbury

Holiday Inn Westbury

Ram’s Head Inn

Southampton Inn

EVENT VENUE:

Barnum Ballroom

Bayview Catering on the Water Venue

Epic Escape Rooms LI

HOTEL:

Allegria Hotel

HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL:

Alexandra Greenberg - George W. Hewlett H.S.

Jennifer Lagnado-Papp - Lawrence H.S.

Richard Schaffer - East Rockaway H.S.

KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTIES:

Epic Escape Rooms LI

Long Island Children’s Museum

Royal Princess Prep Party Company

LEARNING CENTER/TUTOR:

Cornerstone Behavioral Services

Mathnasium

The Coder School

MARTIAL ARTS:

Champions Martial Arts

Uly Karate & Fitness

Warren Levi Martial Arts & Fitness

MUSIC SCHOOLS/CLASSES:

Our Kids Place Hewlett

School of Rock

The Children’s Orchestra Society

NURSERY SCHOOL:

Bellmore United Methodist Nursery School

Our Kids Place Hewlett

United Church Nursery School

SPORTS CAMP:

Hofstra University

Sportime Lynbrook

The Sports Arena

PEOPLE & PLACES

LOCAL TOURIST ATTRACTION:

Jones Beach State Park

Montauk Point Lighthouse

Nunley’s Carousel

MUSEUM:

Cradle of Aviation Museum

Long Island Children’s Museum

Raynham Hall Museum

PLACE TO HAVE A PARTY:

The Bayview

PLACE TO WORSHIP:

Temple Avodah

Temple B’nai Torah

Temple Beth El

WEDDING VENUE:

The Bayview

Swan Club On The Harbor

Westbury Manor

Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa

The Garden City Hotel

Epic Escape Rooms LI

Kombert Caterers

CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK FOR THE TOP IN SERVICES AND SHOPPING!

Congrats to all the Top 3 Finalists in the 2022 Herald Long Island Choice Awards presented by PSEG Long Island! Check back each week for the Top 3 Reveal in each category leading up to the Oscar-style awards ceremony in April 2023. Did your favorites make it to the top? Visit www.LiChoiceAwards.com! *Finalists are listed alphabetically, not in order of placement.

All aboard for Grand Central Madison Limited — and temporary —Long Island Rail Road shuttle service from Jamaica opens

By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com

To the casual observer, it was just any other day at Jamaica’s Long Island Rail Road station.

But just after 10 a.m., commuters rushed aboard a shuttle train destined for Manhattan, the familiar busy choreography of squeezing through, wedging past, running in to nab a seat.

Families holding their kids in tow. Couples and solo riders clutching their baggage. All of them packed into train cars, filling the aisle seats within minutes. Other late arrivals stood standing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But the air — even for a late-morning train ride — was unusually abuzz with chatter. Some kept conversation below a whisper. Others, not so much. But everyone was alive with a quiet knowing that this was no ordinary train ride. Instead, taking place, was a moment in history.

A history that was finally connecting Long island with Manhattan’s East Side.

For the better part of a century, for as long as anyone can remember, LIRR commuters relied on Penn Station to get them into the heart of New York City. So long in fact, it seemed the day for an alternative would never come.

But within the span of 22 minutes, that would all become history.

As the train came to its final stop 150 feet below ground in the bedrock of Midtown Manhattan, the low rattling of the train cars stopped, followed by silence. No one dared to move. Breaking the stillness was the sound of the cheery conductor’s voice coming over the loudspeaker whose five words said it all:

“Welcome to Grand Central Madison”

Applause erupted from the train cars. It was a watershed moment for the MTA as passengers set foot for the very first time on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Manhattan East Side station. A moment that encapsulated six decades of planning, nearly 20 years of construction, and roughly $11.6 billion.

The opening came after a month of delays caused by a faulty ventilation fan. Yet, despite the acknowledged roadblocks, delays and missteps along the way, Grand Central Madison is finally here.

“Grand Central will dramatically change the transportation of the region,” said Janno Lieber, the MTA’s chair and chief executive. “It’s going to benefit Long Islanders with shorter commutes, 40 percent more service, and help Long Island business recruit people from the city with reverse commuting.”

And for Niurka Maldonado of Queens —riding with daughters Nora and Paulina — the prospect of having faster access to Manhattan’s East Side is nothing short of exciting.

“We have several friends that work in that area, and I love some of the restaurants in there,” she said. “So, we’re going to definitely be doing more trips to Grand Central and everything around there.”

Grand Central Madison direct LIRR schedule

For roughly three weeks, shuttle service trains between Jamaica and Grand Central Madison are running every 30 minutes during off-peak hours and on weekends, and once per hour during peak times.

Service runs between 6:15 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays, and between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekends.

Long Island Rail Road riders looking to Grand Central Madison can use their Penn Station tickets, which are the same price.

It will likely be a month before full service comes online, replacing the simple commuter trains. For now, riders looking for a fast way between Jamaica and Manhattan’s East Side can find trains every 30 minutes during off-peak hours, and every 60 during peak times.

“I just want to see if it saves me time going to my office on the East Side,” said Francesco Giovannetti of Glen Head. “I’m hoping to save about 20 to 30 minutes being two blocks away from Grand Central. I want to get acclimated to the station.”

Then there was Ruthanne Terrero of Malverne, sitting placidly with her tote bag in hand, taking in the significance of the moment of new train service to Manhattan.

“It’s just really glorious to see that we have something really beautiful,” Terrero said. “I think a lot of people work on the East Side, and I think it’s also really important that people see that New York is progressing.”

And more progress is still to come. Whether this project was worth its price tag, worth the commuting disruption, and worth the extended wait will be up to the riders themselves. Some have already taken to social media to point out certain mishaps like escalators shutting down midway, and some finding trouble making their way into the LIRR concourse at Grand Central.

It is no doubt looking to be a work in progress.

But Mitchell Schwartz and brother Steven — two young MTA train enthusiasts from Roslyn — wouldn’t have wanted this once-in-a-lifetime moment any other way.

Phyllis Levine, pounced on the chance to hop on the shuttle train to Grand Central if it meant saving time getting to her pharmacology appointment.

“I’m not a subway person, and I gen-

erally like to drive everywhere,” the Queens resident said. “But the easiest way to get to Manhattan from Queens is the express bus or the Long Island Rail Road. So, I figured I should try the ride to Grand Central. See how it goes.”

“Just try wrapping your head around the fact that we are the first of millions to ride a train toward something that has been proposed for over half a century,” Mitchell said. “It’s just an amazing occasion.”

Additional reporting by Andre Silva.

Juan Lasso/Herald photos

COMMUTERS, ENVELOPED UNDER a glass ceiling, take the roughly 3,000-foot escalator between the Long Island Rail Road concourse and the mezzanine at Grand Central Madison station on opening day of service that will eventually create a direct link between Manhattan’s East Side and Long Island.

COMMUTERS FROM JAMAICA station boarded the first passenger Long Island Rail Road train to Grand Central Madison inaugurating the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s long-awaited East Side access that will soon provide LIRR service out of Grand Central Terminal.

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D’Esposito gets to work on Capitol Hill

By ANA BORRUTO aborruto@liherald.com

It’s certainly been an interesting process getting acclimated to Washington, and his new role as a congressman. But U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito is happy to finally get to settle down and tackle his new role on Capitol Hill.

From police officer to detective in the New York Police Department. An 18-year-old volunteer firefighter to fire chief. And now Hempstead town councilman to congressman, the 40-year-old Island Park native describes looking back at his journey as a surreal experience.

Orientation for incoming congressional members like D’Esposito began the Sunday after Election Day — a point where some candidates were still waiting for their races to be called. Still, freshmen members of the House undergo a two-week icebreaker period where they get to know one another and learn how everything we see on C-SPAN operates.

“In politics in general — but specifically in Washington — you look at where people sit on the (House) floor, and it’s literally divided by an aisle,” D’Esposito said. “When we went to orientation, you walked into the hotel or you walked into different events, everyone just had a nametag on.”

It said who they were and where they were from, but there was no “D” or “R” labelling them as Democrats or Republicans.

“I think it gave (us) the opportunity to really meet people with an open mind,” he said.

D’Esposito is now almost a month into office, serving on three House committees: Homeland Security, Transportation and Infrastructure and House Administration.

When it comes to homeland security, the congressman believes the biggest issue the country faces is taking

WITH

place at the U.S.-Mexico border. There have been a large number of migrants coming to the United States seeking asylum, or at least a better life. While D’Esposito believes everyone should have the opportunity to come to America, it still must be “done correctly.”

That means more funding for border patrol agents and the resources they need to keep the country’s borders safe.

Getting onto the Homeland Security Community meant earning a top-secret security clearance. Before leaving the NYPD in his previous life, D’Esposito was in

with Michael and Suzanne Ettinger Attorneys-at-Law

Special Needs Children and Grandchildren

Parents or grandparents of a disabled child should leave assets in a Special Needs Trust, to avoid the child being disqualified from government benefits, such as SSI and Medicaid. The reasoning behind these Special Needs Trusts is simple — prior to the protection now afforded by these trusts, parents would simply disinherit their disabled children rather than see them lose their benefits. Since the state wasn’t getting the inheritance monies anyway, why not allow it to go to the disabled child for his or her extra needs, above and beyond what the state supplies.

These trusts, however, offer traps for the unwary. Since payments to the child will generally reduce their SSI payments dollar for dollar, trustees of such trusts should be advised to make payments directly to the providers of goods and services. Preserving SSI benefits is crucial since eligibility for SSI determines eligibility for Medicaid.

In other words, if SSI is lost the recipient also loses their Medicaid benefits. In addition, any benefits previously paid by Medicaid may be recovered. As such, one also has to be mindful of bequests from well-meaning grandparents. Similarly, if a sibling dies without a will, a

share of their estate may go to the special needs brother or sister by law. The Special Needs Trust must be carefully drafted so that it only allows payments for any benefits over and above what the government provides.

There are two kinds of Special Needs Trusts – first party and third party. The first party trust is set up by a parent, grandparent, legal guardian or court using the child’s own money, either through earnings, an inheritance that was left directly to them or, perhaps, a personal injury award. Recent changes in the law allow the special needs child to establish their own first party Special Needs Trust if they are legally competent to engage in contractual matters. These first party trusts require a “payback” provision, meaning that on the death of the child beneficiary, the trust must pay back the state for any government benefits received.

A third party trust is usually set up by a parent or grandparent, using their own money. Here, no “payback” provision is required because it was not the child’s own money that funded the trust and the parent or grandparent had no obligation to leave any assets to the child. On the death of the child beneficiary, the balance of the trust is paid out to named beneficiaries.

the process of transferring to the department’s joint terrorist task force.

“In addition to my 20 or so years as a first responder, I think having someone from Long Island and New York on Homeland Security is super important,” D’Esposito said. “We need to carry that mantle of Peter King, who was the chair of Homeland Security following 9/11. And we need to make sure we are able to provide the resources that we need to our local law enforcement agencies — not only here, but throughout the country.”

D’Esposito’s responsibilities with the Committee of House Administration include overseeing management of House operations, federal elections, key congressional offices, and Capitol Complex security — which extends to supervising the U.S. Capitol Police and its management.

The former police officer expressed his excitement in the opportunity to utilize his law enforcement experience when collaborating with officers sworn to protect one of the nation’s three branches of government.

But even with all that work on his plate, D’Esposito still finds himself talking about one of his fellow freshman colleagues from a neighboring congressional district — U.S. Rep. George Santos, and the ongoing reports and investigations into his past and how he raised money for his campaign.

D’Esposito won’t back down on his calls for Santos to resign, and is prepared to provide whatever services constituents in Santos’ district might need, but not comfortable approaching the embattled congressman about.

“People voted for a George Santos that they don’t even know — they voted for the George Santos that George created,” D’Esposito said. “You call, you’re looking for help, regardless of where you live, regardless of where you’re from, what you look like or what party you’re affiliated with — we’re here to help you.”

Tim Baker/Herald

THE HELP of his 3-year-old niece Sailor, U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito takes the oath of office from former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato. The congressman finds himself on three House committees, including one for homeland security that requires him to get top-secret clearance.

Future coders get an early start at Wantagh Elementary

They may have been taking part in the Hour of Code initiative, but students at Wantagh Elementary School have been doing way more than an hour of computer programming. STEAM teacher Kaitlin Humphrey said students in kindergarten through fifth grade are doing coding activities throughout January and February.

In kindergarten and first grade, children have been working with Bee-Bots, small robots that move around on a mat and are programmed by pushing a sequence of directional buttons. Students in grades 2-5 are doing various coding activities through the Code.org website based on their interests.

Fourth and fifth graders are also using Bitsbox to program and actually get to write coding text. This is a natural next step to enhance their skills, Ms. Humphrey said, after doing drag-and-drop coding in the younger grades.

To enhance their knowledge of computer programming, students are also introduced to coding vocabulary.

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Courtesy Wantagh Schools

Fourth graders, From left, Ella Catropa, Hayden Giordano and Kennedy Dunn used Bitsbox to improve their coding skills.

NCC union rallies after health care costs rise

By ANDRE SILVA asilva@liherald.com

Demanding fair contracts with affordable health care costs, dozens of Nassau Community College faculty members rallied outside of the county legislature last week.

They were part of a broader protest from the Nassau Community College Federation of Teachers, an educators union representing NCC’s full-time faculty, speaking out against higher health care insurance premium costs. They gathered on the steps of the county legislature carrying signs like “We’d rather be teaching right now,” demanding better wages and fair contracts, targeting both the Nassau Community College Board of Trustees and the county itself.

They weren’t out on the steps long before some of the union members were ushered inside the Mineola building with a chance to state their case with county legislators.

The educators union and trustees board have been negotiating full-time faculty contracts since last July, hoping to work out a deal before their contracts expired in August. The union has rallied multiple times since then, expressing frustration with the negotiation process.

As recently as Dec. 13, Siminioff and the union asked the trustees to include salary increases to keep up with rising inflation, as well as include paid sabbaticals. But then, last week, health insurance premium costs jumped for full-time faculty at NCC.

The increase came about thanks to the trustees enacting an old clause in their contracts — written decades ago — allow-

ing the board to charge faculty members working under an expired contract with increased health insurance premiums. The insurance increases, Siminioff said, could cost faculty members between $2,500 and $5,000 — effectively acting like a pay cut.

“So, we’re not getting we’re not getting a wage increase. Our promotions have all been frozen. We’re not getting our sabbaticals. We’re not getting anything. But they’re imposing this on us,” Siminioff said. “I think this provision has been there for 30 years and they have never invoked it. They want to punish the faculty and force us through economic strongarming.”

John Gross, an Ingerman Smith attorney representing Nassau Community College, said the New York State Health Insurance Plan — which provides insurance to all college employees — raised premiums on Jan. 1 by 15 percent for family coverage. That’s about $5,000 each year. Individual coverage rose more than 12 percent, which could cost upward of $4,000 over the next 12 months.

A provision in NCC’s full-time faculty labor contract states if the cost of health insurance premiums increases after a contract expires, Gross said, it’s up to the individual employees to shoulder those costs through payroll deductions.

“The union knew it was in the labor contract because one of the proposals in our current negotiations is to remove the clause,” Gross said. “The board didn’t wake up one day and said, ‘You know what? We’re going to impose these increases on the union.’”

Siminioff said many faculty members

feel the college has strained them to their limits, and has not properly supported them financially. Aside from the imposed health insurance premiums, NCC’s faculty has experienced an average wage increase just over 1 percent in the past decade.

“The starting salary for an instructional faculty member is approximately $60,800, and the starting salary for a noninstructional faculty member is $55,900,” Siminioff said. “According to the MIT wage calculator, a middle-class family of three needs about $96,000 to be middle class in Nassau County.”

Faculty members are teaching more students in larger classes over the past few years, Siminioff said. When she first

started teaching at NCC some 25 years ago, she taught an average of 110 students each semester. Now, professors are being asked to educate an average of 160 students each semester — which Siminioff feels is unfair.

Aside from low starting wages, it typically takes 15 to 18 years for someone on the faculty to start earning $100,000, Siminioff said. Anyone hired now would earn $55,000, taking 15 years to climb to $100,000.

“By the time you get 15 years of employment, it’s still not enough to live middle class in Nassau County,” Siminioff said. “So, they’re condemning college faculty to never being middle class. That’s the bottom line.”

Tim Baker/Herald photos

MEMBERS OF THE Nassau Community College Federation of Teachers, an educators union supporting the school’s full-time faculty, gathered at the Nassau County Legislature to demand fair contracts after learning their health care insurance premiums were going up.

FAREN SIMINIOFF, PRESIDENT of the Nassau Community College Federation of Teachers union, gathered protesters outside the Nassau County Legislature, demanding better wages and fair contracts from the Nassau Community College board and the county.

T hey want to punish the faculty and force us through economic strong-arming.

FAREN SIMINIOFF president, Nassau Community College Federation of Teachers

STEPPING OUT

Score big on Super Sunday on Get your

By Karen Bloom

It’s the biggest sports day of the year. Classic commercials, historic plays and friends are all quintessential elements of the perfect game-day get-together. Whether your gang includes football fanatics or just a few fans, the big game — on Feb. 12 — is a great excuse for casual winter entertaining.

And while there may be a game on the big screen, a lot of the action takes place around the table — keeping everyone well-fed is a sport in itself!

• 1/4 tsp. onion powder

• 1 tsp. smoked paprika

• 1 cup hummus

Whisk first seven ingredients together (vinegar through paprika). Add hummus and combine thoroughly. Be creative with your dipping options. Potato and tortilla chips go hand-in-hand with tailgating festivities, but beyond these standards is a whole world of other dipping options. For a Mediterranean touch, go with flatbread, pita bread or pita chips. Or opt for more texture with multi-grain crackers that include raw flax, chia or sesame seeds. Or go for double the Buffalo wing flavor by dipping your wing, instead of the traditional blue cheese.

Cajun Buffalo Chicken Wings

Here’s a zesty take on the football-watching favorite.

• 2-1/2 pounds chicken wing pieces

• 1/2 cup any flavor Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce

• 1/3 cup ketchup

• 2 tsp. Cajun seasoned spice blend

Bake wings in foil-lined pan at 500° F on lowest oven rack for 20 to 25 minutes until crispy, turning once.

Mix buffalo wings sauce, ketchup and spice blend. Toss wings in sauce to coat.

Tip: You may substitute 1/2 cup red hot sauce mixed with 1/3 cup melted butter for the Wings Sauce.

Alternate cooking directions: Deep-fry at 375° F for 10 minutes, or broil 6 inches from heat 15 to 20 minutes turning once.

Darlene Love

Darlene Love is always a welcome stage presence. For more than 50 years, she’s been making rock and roll’s world go ‘round. Since the early ‘60s, as part of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound hit factory, this songstress has done it all — from movies like the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series to Broadway hits like ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Grease.’ She even starred as herself in ‘Leader of the Pack,’ credited as Broadway’s first ‘jukebox musical.’ Love’s career and legacy reached new heights, as a result of being featured in 2013’s acclaimed documentary ‘20 Feet from Stardom,’ when she became the best known ‘unknown”’ in rock history. She continues to captivate audiences with her warm, gracious persona and dynamic performances. Her timeless, soaring voice remains as powerful as ever. Rolling Stone magazine has proclaimed Love to be ‘one of the greatest singers of all time,’ and that certainly rings true, but perhaps Paul Shaffer says it even more concisely: ‘Darlene Love is rock and roll!”

Friday, Feb. 10, 8 p.m. $88, $78, $68. Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main St., Port Washington. (516) 767-6444 or LandmarkOnMainStreet.org.

Hummus Buffalo Wing Dip

A warm batch of Buffalo wings pairs well with this smoky and spicy dip.

• 1 tsp. red wine vinegar

• 1 tsp. olive oil

• 1 tbsp. tomato paste

• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard

• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Touchdown Italian Sausage Chili

• 1 package (19.76 ounces) Italian sausage links

• 1 cup onion, chopped

• 3 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 1 large sweet red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1 tbsp. garlic, minced

• 3 tbsp. olive oil

• 1 large yellow pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1 large green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Italian recipe stewed tomatoes

• 1 can (16 ounces) dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 can (15 ounces) butter beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

• 3/4 cup black olives, sliced

• 1/4 cup cream sherry (optional)

• 1 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking cocoa

• 1/2 to 1 tsp. pepper

Cook sausage according to package directions; cut into half moon slices and set aside.

In soup kettle, saute onion, celery, sweet pepper and garlic in oil until tender. Add sausage and remaining ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until flavors are blended.

Sprinkle chili with grated asiago, romano, parmesan cheese — or any cheese of your choice — before serving. Makes 12 servings.

Lviv National Philharmonic

The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine was established in Lviv in1902, a city known as one of the great cultural centers of eastern Europe, The orchestra has evolved over the years to become one of that nation’s largest and most internationally known ensembles, now under the baton of principal guest conductor Theodore Kuchar. It reminds us of how music can bridge cultures and bring people together. Their 2023 American tour is a testament to the power of music to overcome adversity. Their program for this powerful concert includes: Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych’s Chamber Symphony No. 3 for Flute and String Orchestra; Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92. Pianist Oksana Rapita is the featured soloist.

Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m.; with 6:45 p.m. Arts Insider preperformance preview. $79, $59, $44. Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, LIU Post campus, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville. (516) 299-3100 or TillesCenter. org..

THE SCENE

Feb. February 2, 2023 — WANTAGH HERALD

Zoë Keating

Feb. 23

Art talk

Grab your lunch and join Nassau County Museum of Art Docent Riva Ettus for her popular “Brown Bag Lecture” live, via Zoom, Thursday, Feb. 23, 1 p.m. She’ll discuss the current exhibition, “The Big Picture: Photography Now.” Participants are invited to ask questions at the end of the program. Register at least 24 hours in advance to receive the program Zoom link. Also Feb. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor. (516) 484-9337 or NassauMuseum.org.

Ellen Allard Concert

Temple B’nai Torah in Wantagh will be welcoming Ellen Allard the weekend of Feb. 3 through Feb. 5. Ellen Allard is an award-winning performer, music educator, composer, and recording artist. The first performance will be on Saturday, Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m. Ticket information may be found at tbtwantagh. seatyourself.biz.

Weekly Mah Jongg

The JULIETS are back playing Mah Jongg and cards at Congregation Beth Tikvah, at 3710 Woodbine Ave., in Wantagh, every Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Masks are optional, but proof of Covid-19 vaccination is required for newcomers, as well as a contribution of $5 per person. For more information email mahjonggCBT@yahoo.com or call (516) 785-2445.

Explore Wantagh history

Learn fascinating facts about Wantagh at The Wantagh Museum. Located at 1700 Wantagh Ave., it’s open every Sunday from 2-4. There’s much to explore. For info, visit Wantagh.LI/museum.

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Feb. 3

In perfect harmony

The SingStrong A Cappella Festival returns to the New York area, hosted by Adelphi University, Friday through Sunday, Feb. 3-5. Professional a cappella groups perform along with collegiate and high school ensembles. A variety of musical genres are represented, including re-imaginings of barbershop, pop, R&B, jazz, and more. Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, 1 South Ave., Garden City. (516) 8774000 or Adelphi.edu/pac.

Wantagh Board of Education meeting

The Wantagh Board of Education holds their monthly meeting, Thurday, Feb. 9, in Wantagh High School auditorium, 3297 Beltagh Ave. For more information email BOE@wantaghschools.org or call (516) 765-4100.

$5 Skate Night

United Skates of America in Seaford wants to make skating year round activity. Every Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m., enjoy a skate night with only $5 admission; skate rental is available for an extra $6. For more information visit tinyurl. com/thursdayskate.

On stage

Mo Willems’ popular Pigeon comes alive on the Long Island Children’s Museum stage, Saturday, Feb. 11, 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Sunday, Feb.12, 2 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 15-17, noon. Pigeon is eager to try anything, with the audience part of the action. LICM, Museum Row, Garden City. (516) 2245800 or LICM.org.

Winter book reading

Book clubs aren’t just for the summer. The Seaford Public Library hosts “Walking in a Reading Wonderland” adult reading program throughout January and February, through Feb. 25. Prizes will be offered at the end. For more information email adultprograms@ seafordlibrary.org.

Having an event?

Tackapausha Museum

Bring the family to Tackapausha Museum and Preserve, 2225 Washington Avenue in Seaford. The county museum is home to 100 different live animals. The museum’s many acitivities include birthday parties, community service projects, Boy and Girl Scout programs to earn badges, educational programs, and more. For more information contact (516) 571-7443.

Seaford Board of Education meeting

The Seaford Board of education holds their monthly meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Seaford Manor Elementary School’s All-Purpose room, located at 1590 Washington Avenue. For more information call (516) 592-4000.

Psychic evening

Psychic/medium Shira holds forth, Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Seaford American Legion, 2301 Penatiquit Ave. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/ seafordpsychic.

Items on The Scene page are listed free of charge. The Herald welcomes listings of upcoming events, community meetings and items of public interest. All submissions should include date, time and location of the event, cost, and a contact name and phone number. Submissions can be emailed to thescene@liherald.com.

RichnerLIVE is “Fealing” Good

Platanos Y Collard Greens

See the romantic comedy about what happens when an African American and a Latina college student fall in love, presented by Nassau Community College Theater and Dance Department and the Africana Studies Department, Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 7-11, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 12, 2 p.m. Also Feb. 16-19, with talkback session with playwright David Lamb, immediately following final performance. Threaded by the culture of hip-hop, the lovers defend their relationship, as friends and family learn that this “food fight” calls for fusion instead of feud. Nassau Community College’s Mainstage Theatre, Garden City. Tickets $10; NCC students free with valid ID; $8 veterans, alumni, seniors 60+, students and NCC employees. For tickets/information, visit NCC.edu or call (516) 572-7676.

Pat McGann

Pat McGann, quickly rising as one of the sharpest stand-ups on the comedy scene, appears at The Paramount, Saturday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m. A relative latecomer to comedy, he began doing stand-up at age 31 after realizing he was not very good at selling packaging. He hustled his way to become the house emcee at Zanies Chicago, where he distinguished himself as especially adept at working the crowd. A husband and father of three young children, his appeal stems from his quick wit and relatable take on family life and marriage. In 2017, McGann began touring as the opening act for Sebastian Maniscalco, moving with him from clubs to theater, to arenas, including four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. $40, $35, $30, $25. The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington. (800) 745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com or ParamountNY.com.

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(From left

right) Jodi Turk, event, marketing and brand strategist, and Amy Amato, executive director of corporate relations and events, visited the Barasch & McGarry office to deliver a check to John Feal, founder and president of the FealGood Foundation, and Sara Director, partner at Barasch & McGarry who handles 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) claims and a Top Lawyer Honoree. RichnerLIVE donated a portion of ticket proceeds from the Herald Top Lawyers of Long Island Awards Gala to the foundation. The FealGood Foundation protects and assists all emergency personnel injured on the job or in their personal lives through offering financial aid, basic home utilities, medicine and more. On Sept. 12, 2001, Feal was called to assist in the cleanup of ground zero when his foot was crushed and forced to be amputated. After dealing with the hurdles that came with the accident, he decided that no one should struggle after helping with ground zero. Visit www.FealGoodFoundation.com for more information on the organization and how you can help.

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DOMESTIC BOTTLES $4

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to

Photo Courtesy of Barasch & McGarry

Town redistricting falls short of new map

Recommendation not enough, civic groups say

By ANA BORRUTO & JUAN LASSO of the Herald

After several rounds of blistering public hearings and politically pressurized back-and-forths, a temporary redistricting commission’s efforts to explore how new political lines should be drawn for the Town of Hempstead ended last month with its final recommendation. Their choice? Nothing.

After weighing the options between a preliminary map pitched by Hempstead town officials, or alternatives by local civic and law groups, the three-member commission officially urged town lawmakers to produce a final map that keeps communities of interest intact. Still, it stopped short of putting forward an actual map for the town to consider.

“We really sat, each one of us, and it truly was a hearing,” commission chair Gary Hudes told the audience. “We listened.

“I think, in both cases, there is a common thread we are seeing, and that is the idea of keeping communities whole and making them more compact.”

The move was met with a sharp uproar from the small crowd, dashing expectations for a final green light for a town council map.

Mimi Pierre-Johnson, the founder of the Elmont Cultural Center, felt the commission had turned a corner by formally acknowledging the faults of the town’s proposal. But they fell short when they did not deliver on a solid recommendation.

“Our hopes (were) snatched by the fact that they refused to stand behind one of the proposed alternative maps and tweak it as needed,” Pierre-Johnson said. “The resolution is not enough to satisfy everything the public raised a concern to.”

Since the first day of the redistricting process, concerns raised by voters and community activist groups circle back to a single theme: District lines should be redrawn to have a more balanced demographic representation of up to three “minority-majority” districts, and compact historically and culturally whole communities. This is something the Elmont Cultural Center and Legal Defense Fund said they ensured with their five alternative maps.

Commission members admitted that not a single proposed map addressed all the issues people have put forth at various meetings, but claimed the recommendation was enough to communicate the gist of everyone’s concerns.

As it stands, the current map produced

by the town-hired Skyline Demographic Consultants ensures the town’s 22 villages — with the exception of the Village of Hempstead — remain whole in accordance with the municipal “home rule” law. And communities such as East Meadow, Franklin Square, North Valley Stream, Baldwin, Uniondale and Woodmere each contain portions of two council districts, while West Hempstead contains portions of three.

Critics, however, raised doubts about the map’s compliance with federal and state voting rights protections — specifically the Voting Rights Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York,

signed last summer by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Michael Pernick of the Legal Defense Fund, civil rights attorney Frederick Brewington, Randolph McLaughlin and LatinoJustice PRLDEF argued splitting the Black and Latino communities in Elmont and Valley Stream into two separate majority-white districts dilutes minority voting power.

“Over 38 percent of the population in the Town of Hempstead is Black or Latino,” the law professionals wrote in a letter to the commission. “But this demographic can only elect the candidate of their choice in one out of the six districts.”

Pernick and Brewington warned that

Ana Borruto/Herald photos

THE PROPOSED MAP from Hempstead town officials showing where town council districts will be placed was created by Skyline Consulting. It has drawn criticism from civic groups and law experts for what they claim violate federal and state voting rights protections, saying the map fails to keep communities whole, and continues to crack minority neighborhoods into multiple districts.

THE ELMONT CULTURAL Center’s ‘Blue Bird Plan’ keeps Elmont and Valley Stream in one minoritymajority district when it comes to representation on the Hempstead town council, while maps proposed by Hempstead town officials do not.

if Hempstead finalizes the current map as it stands, it could expose the town to costly litigation — all at taxpayers’ expense.

A statement released by the commission acknowledged the Skyline proposal was “problematic in that it splits Hempstead and Uniondale, Baldwin, East Meadow, Franklin Square, West Hempstead and North Valley Stream. It fails to keep the communities of North Valley Stream and Elmont together, and fails to put the communities of Merrick and North Merrick into a single district.

“It is not sufficiently compact, and compactness is an important redistricting criteria under the ‘home rule’ message.”

The resolution is not enough to satisfy everything the public raised a concern to.

MIMI PIERREJOHNSON founder, Elmont Cultural Center

Newbridge readers review and recommend books

Sixth graders are immersed in literary discussions every day in Danielle Calapai’s class at Newbridge Road Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District. Recently, they added a technology component by making digital book reviews with Google Slides.

With the book club model, each group selects a common book to read and analyze. Reading takes place at home, and students meet the next day to discuss the plot, characters and other literary elements.

Each member of a reading group has an assigned task, such as summarizing the previous night’s reading, making predictions or creating discussion questions. During the discussions, Calapai meets with the groups to assess their understanding of the book and reinforce literacy skills.

Recent books included “The Boy Who Saved Baseball,” “Resistance,” See You on a Starry Night” and “The Tiger Rising.”

After finishing the book, each group collectively wrote a book review. Then, students individually made Google Slide presentations about the book and stating whether or not they would recommend it.

Students linked their presentations to QR codes, which were printed out and hung in the hallway for anyone looking for a book recommendation.

–Jordan Vallone

Courtesy North Bellmore School District

Newbridge road elemeNtary School sixth graders, from left, Thomas Maroney, Aidan Ynoa, Gabriella Fernandez and Alyssa Brunetti made digital book recommendations with Google Slides.

Wantagh cheer to compete in varsity nationals

continued from front page

Three senior captains — Jessica Balkunas, Emily Drago and Ava Lombardo — lead the cheer team. All three have been involved since a young age, doing gymnastics and later training at the Wantagh Arrows, a program outside of school. Katie Savage, who is also a coach for Wantagh’s varsity team, coaches the Arrows.

“It’s competitive cheerleading, starting at age five and going till 11,” Savage said, referring to the Arrows. “They finish out in sixth grade, and then most of them will try out for a team in seventh.”

There is a junior varsity cheer team, but Drago, Balkunas and Lombardo all got on the varsity team in their freshman year. All three have helped coach at the Arrows program as well.

“When I was in eighth grade, I heard about how good the varsity team here was,” Balkunas said. “I had the opportunity to get pulled up to the varsity team in eighth grade. And since then, I’ve been on the team.”

According to Bonlarron, this year is Wantagh’s chance to really come back from Covid.

“We’ve been great within our county and at the state level,” Bonlarron said. “We struggled last year down at nationals, but I give us the benefit of the doubt since it was the year after the pandemic, and there were so many teams down there.”

Training also was affected by the pandemic.

“We got to the gym as much as we could, even in masks,” Lombardo said. “We went to as many gyms as we could, practiced in our back yards, doing whatever we could.”

Since they were all freshmen when the pandemic struck, this is their first truly Covid-free year, as even last year masks remained required until Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted the mandate in the spring. Because of

this, and the success they’ve already had this year, the team feels very confident ahead of nationals.

“This year, we have worked so hard to get to all the places we’ve been,” Drago said. “We won our local competitions at home, including one we just hosted in January. I feel like winning that set the tone for the rest of 2023, for all our goals. Making it to the finals at

nationals is the biggest one.”

The competition will take place Feb. 10-12 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Florida — which now has a cheerleading arena.

“These girls really led the team this year,” Bonlarron said. “It’s a big deal switching divisions, and they’ve done amazing all the way through.”

Herald file photo

In addItIon to competing and performing at football games, the Wantagh cheer team took part in a toy drive during the holidays called Operation Christmas Child.

Public Notices

LEGAL NOTICE

AD FOR BID REQUESTS DOORS, WINDOWS, ACCESS CONTROL AND PANIC BUTTONS

A non-profit religious organization located in Merrick, NY is seeking sealed bids for sales and installation of security related enhancements. The project includes obtaining and installation of:

1. New solid interior doors with new frames and automatic closing and locking hardware to replace selected interior doors.

2. New double pane locking security windows with shatterproof glass & limited opening hardware

3. Video intercom and physical access control equipment, including remote lock release capability that is compatible with our current systems for selected interior doors.

4. Acquire and install panic buttons in selected areas of the building Selection criteria will be based on knowledge of doors, door installation, security windows & installation, and security systems. Experience and specific knowledge of all or some of items 1, 2, 3 & 4 listed above, adherence to projected work schedules, prior experience, references, and cost. Bids will be accepted for either individual items listed above or any combination of those items.

Specifications and bid requirements can be obtained by contacting us a t bidstbame@gmail.com.

All firms who intend to bid and are interested in receiving the bid requirements must provide the following information in your email request: firm name, owners’ names, business address, primary contact, telephone, fax, and email address by no later than 5:00pm Friday February 24, 2023.

Bids will be accepted until 5:00pm on Friday March 17, 2023. Work is to commence by Monday

April 24, 2023 and be completed by August 15, 2023 137033

LEGAL NOTICE

The regular meetings of the Wantagh Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners for the 2023 calendar year will be held at 2045 Wantagh Avenue, Wantagh, on the following dates:

January 30th 2023

February 27th 2023

March 27th 2023

April 24th 2023

May 22nd 2023

June 26th 2023

July 31st 2023

August 28th 2023

September 18th 2023

October 16th 2023**

November 13th 2023

December 11th 2023

**The annual budget hearing shall be October 16, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. In accordance with Town Law §181. All meetings will be held in accordance with Public Officers Law §103 and will begin at 8:00 p.m. Additionally, the re-organizational meeting for the 2024 calendar year shall be held on Monday, January 8th 2024 at 7:00 pm in accordance with Town Law §176

This notice is provided in accordance with Public Officers Law §104.

By Order of the Wantagh Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners

Brendan J. Narell Superintendent Wantagh

Fire District

January 10, 2023 137032

LEGAL NOTICE

PUBLIC

NOTICE OF NASSAU COUNTY TREASURER’S SALE OF TAX LIENS ON REAL ESTATE

Notice is hereby given that commencing on February 21st, 2023, will sell at public on-line auction the tax liens on certain real estate, unless the owner, mortgagee, occupant of or any other party in interest in such real estate shall have paid to the County Treasurer by February 16th, 2023 the total amount of such unpaid taxes or assessments with the interest, penalties and other expenses and charges against the property.

Such tax liens will be sold at the lowest rate of interest, not exceeding 10 percent per six-month period, for which any person or persons shall offer to take the total amount of such unpaid taxes as defined in Section 5-37.0 of the Nassau County Administrative Code.

Effective with the February 2019 lien sale Ordinance No. 175-2015 requires a $175.00 per day registration fee for each person who intends to bid at the tax lien sale.

Ordinance No. 175-2015 also requires that upon the issuance of the Lien Certificate there is due from the lien buyer a Tax Certificate Issue Fee of $20.00 per lien purchased. Pursuant to the provisions of the Nassau County Administrative Code at the discretion of the Nassau County Treasurer the auction will be conducted online. Further information concerning the procedures for the auction is available at the website of the Nassau County Treasurer at: https://www.nassaucount yny.gov/526/CountyTreasurer

Should the Treasurer determine that an inperson auction shall be held, same will commence on the 21st day of February 2023 at

the Office of The County Treasurer 1 West Street, Mineola or at some other location to be determined by the Treasurer.

A list of all real estate in Nassau County on which tax liens are to be sold is available at the website of the Nassau County Treasurer at: https://www.nassaucount yny.gov/527/Annual-Tax-

Lien-Sale

A list of local properties upon which tax liens are to be sold will be advertised in this publication on or before February 08th, 2023. Nassau County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodations such as those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to participate in all services, programs, activities and public hearings and events conducted by the Treasurer’s Office. Upon request, information can be made available in Braille, large print, audiotape or other alternative formats. For additional information, please call (516) 571-2090 ext. 1-3715.

Dated: January 25, 2023

THE NASSAU COUNTY TREASURER

Mineola, NewYork

TERMS OF SALE

Such tax liens shall be sold subject to any and all superior tax liens of sovereignties and other municipalities and to all claims of record which the County may have thereon and subject to the provisions of the Federal and State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Acts.

However, such tax liens shall have priority over the County’s Differential Interest Lien, representing the excess, if any, of the interest and penalty borne at the maximum rate over the interest and penalty borne at the rate at which the lien is purchased.

The Purchaser acknowledges that the tax lien(s) sold pursuant to these Terms of Sale may be subject to pending bankruptcy proceedings and/or may become subject to such proceedings which may be commenced during the period in which a tax lien is held by a successful bidder or the assignee of same, which may modify a Purchaser’s rights with respect to the lien(s) and the property securing same. Such bankruptcy proceedings shall not affect the validity of the tax lien. In addition to being subject to pending bankruptcy proceedings and/or the Federal and State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Acts, said purchaser’s right of

foreclosure may be affected by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act(FIRREA),12 U.S.C. ss 1811 et.seq., with regard to real property under Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation(FDIC) receivership.

The County Treasurer reserves the right, without further notice and at any time, to withdraw from sale any of the parcels of land or premises herein listed. The Nassau County Treasurer reserves the right to intervene in any bankruptcy case/litigation where the property affected by the tax liens sold by the Treasurer is part of the bankruptcy estate. However, it is the sole responsibility of all tax lien purchasers to protect their legal interests in any bankruptcy case affecting their purchased tax lien, including but not limited to the filing of a proof of claim on their behalf, covering their investment in said tax lien. The Nassau County Treasurer and Nassau County and its agencies, assumes no responsibility for any legal representation of any tax lien purchaser in any legal proceeding including but not limited to a bankruptcy case where the purchased tax lien is at risk.

The rate of interest and penalty at which any person purchases the tax lien shall be established by his bid. Each purchaser, immediately after the sale thereof, shall pay to the County Treasurer ten per cent of the amount for which the tax liens have been sold and the remaining ninety per cent within thirty days after such sale. If the purchaser at the tax sale shall fail to pay the remaining ninety per cent within ten days after he has been notified by the County Treasurer that the certificates of sale are ready for delivery, then all amounts deposited with the County Treasurer including but not limited to the ten per cent theretofore paid by him shall, without further notice or demand, be irrevocably forfeited by the purchaser and shall be retained by the County Treasurer as liquidated damages and the agreement to purchase shall be of no further effect. Time is of the essence in this sale. This sale is held pursuant to the Nassau County Administrative Code and interested parties are referred to such Code for additional information as to terms of the sale, rights of purchasers, maximum rates of interest and other legal incidents of the sale. Furthermore, as to the bidding,

1. The bidder(s) agree that they will not work with any other bidder(s)

Metacommunication: What’s that?

By Linda Sapadin

What is metacommunication? Simply put, it’s communication (verbal or non-verbal) about communication. An example is communicating in a mocking tone. So if you tell your spouse, “I’d like to go out for dinner tonight,” and your spouse repeats back in a mocking voice, “I’d like to go out for dinner tonight,” you’re off and running to a downhill race.

Here are two more examples of problematic metacommunication:

He says: Do you know where my phone is?

She responds: You never put anything away; then you expect me to find it. How should I know where you put it?

She says: It’s raining; please drive carefully!

He says: Get off my back! I’m not an idiot; I know how to drive – even in the rain!

Communication is not only what you say; it’s what the other person hears, interprets, and understands what you say. When you have a history with someone, a simple question may conjure up a frenzy of emotions. Before you respond in kind, it’d be a good idea to ask yourself:

■ How do you think he interpreted my question?

■ Did my words heighten an existing conflict?

■ Was my tone of voice or body language fraught with hostility?

If you’re thinking, too much work! Why do I need to think about these things? Why can’t I just say what I want to say? Well you sure can. You have the right to keep repeating old patterns. You can shake your head in disdain. Tell him what an idiot he is. Call her an airhead. Mutter curse words. Build a case for how right you are! Then your conversation might go something like this:

She: I know something’s bothering you. What is it? Did you have a bad day?

He: Nothing’s bothering me! I just want some peace and quiet. Is that too much to ask?

She: There you go again. Not talking to me. I’m sick of it.

He: Silence

She: What kind of a marriage do we have? You don’t share anything with me. I’ve had it with you!

You can see where this conversation is going. Time to batten down the hatches!

Now let’s imagine she starts with the same complaint but both parties alter their responses to obtain a different outcome.

She: I know something’s bothering you. What is it? Did you have a bad day?

He: Nothing’s bothering me! I just had a stressful day and want to relax. I need time to unwind.

She: Okay, I hear you; you want to retreat to your cave. Hopefully your hibernation won’t last too long. When you emerge, remember I’m here to listen.

He: I know but I’m not like you; I don’t always want to talk about stuff.

She: Yeah, you’re a quiet guy. I know that. Still, it makes me feel alone, and distant from you when you don’t share what’s going on in your life.

He: I’m zonked. Let me be, and we’ll talk later after the kids are asleep.

She: Okay, I look forward to it.

What did this couple do that de-escalated the conflict? Here are five communication skills that made a difference.

■ Validated the other person’s perspective.

■ Stated their own needs without attacking their spouse.

■ Asked for what they wanted directly without drama.

■ Communicated respectfully and optimistically.

■ Avoided gridlock by seeking a solution to the conflict.

Relationships thrive or fail based on communication skills. It’s never too late to learn more effective ways to communicate with others.

©2023

Linda Sapadin, Ph.D., psychologist, coach and author specializes in helping people improve their relationships, enhance their lives and overcome procrastination and fear. Contact her at DrSapadin@aol.com. Visit her website at www.PsychWisdom.com.

Public Notices

to increase, maintain or stabilize interest rates or collaborate with any other bidder(s) to gain an unfair competitive advantage in the random number generator in the event of a tie bid(s) on a tax certificate. Bidder(s) further agree not to employ any bidding strategy designed to create an unfair competitive advantage in the tiebreaking process in the upcoming tax sale nor work with any other bidder(s) to engage in any bidding strategy that will

result in a rotational award of tax certificates.

2. The tax certificate(s) the Bidder will bid upon, and the interest rate(s) bid, will be arrived at independently and without direct or indirect consultation, communication or agreement with any other bidder and that the tax certificate(s) the Bidder will bid upon, and the interest rate(s) to be bid, have not been disclosed, directly or indirectly, to any other bidder, and will not be disclosed, directly

or indirectly, to any other bidder prior to the close of bidding. No attempt has been made or will be made to, directly or indirectly, induce any other bidder to refrain from bidding on any tax certificate, to submit complementary bids, or to submit bids at specific interest rates.

3. The bids to be placed by the Bidder will be made in good faith and not pursuant to any direct or indirect, agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any

other bidder to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive bid.

4. If it is determined that the bidder(s) have violated any of these bid requirements then their bid shall be voided and if they were the successful bidder the lien and any deposits made in connection with said bid shall be forfeited.

Dated: January 25, 2023

We HiRe tHe Best 1202116

Homes HERALD To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

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Erit Gridnev is a savvy real estate agent with over 15 years of experience in marketing and sales. Specializing in relocations, she understands the importance of finding the perfect property for her clients. Because she knows that moving to a new house is a very big change, Erit takes the time to get to know her clients and their specific needs. With a B.A in Human Services, she is able to provide valuable insight into community life and what to expect from different neighborhoods. Her wit and humor make her an enjoyable person to work with, and her expertise ensures that her clients are always satisfied with their purchase. Contact Erit at 510-584-6350 or by email eritg@vipropertiesny.com

Realtors are encouraged to send briefs and photographs to: Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd.., Garden City, NY 11530.

REAL ESTATE

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Reduction! Move Right Into This Completely CLASSIFIED Fax your ad to: 516-622-7460 E-mail your ad to: ereynolds@liherald.com E-mail Finds Under $100 to: sales@liherald.com DEADLINE: Monday, 11:00 am for all classified ads. Every effort is made to insure the accuracy of your ad. Please check your ad at the first insertion. Credit will be made only for the first insertion. Credit given for errors in ads is limited to the printed space involved. Publisher reserves right to reject, cancel or correctly classify an ad.

Ronnie To pLACE your AD CALL 516-569-4000 - press 5

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My pickup truck has damaged the garage floor

Q. Can you solve a debate I have been having with my contractor about replacing the cracked floor in my garage? The problem is that I want to have steel bars in the slab and make it extra thick, since the existing slab is cracked and damaged from my heavy pickup truck, sometimes filled with heavy construction items. The concrete guy keeps telling me it’s overkill and that just the concrete, 5 inches thick, with a rollout wire mesh, is enough. Can you explain which one I need, and why he keeps telling me that the driveway is concrete, not cement? I want to do this job as soon as it warms up.

A. The first problem to solve is who should be designing the correct slab. Yes, we all know it’s just a slab, but you’ve already seen what happens when someone unfamiliar with the engineering design of even the simplest concrete slab doesn’t apply the correct preventive details.

Concrete is very strong in compression, meaning you can press on it to extremes before it even shows small signs of failure.

Ask The Architect Monte Leeper

Unfortunately, concrete has no tensile strength. Zero. Zip. This means you can easily pull it apart, or bend it to the point of cracking without much force.

Structural engineers and architects, to a lesser extent, are trained to apply specific formulas that predict the success (and failure) of even a slab of formed concrete. Knowing how a slab fails allows professionals to apply the right reinforcement in the right places. Otherwise you’re just guessing.

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There’s a difference in the description of the slab, which is made up of several materials, such as sand, lime, and something called “Portland cement.” Portland Cement is a mixture of mined calcium silicates and a lesser amount of calcium aluminates that form a chemical reaction in the presence of water. The chemical reaction causes the mixture to harden and give off heat, called the heat of hydration. It was patented in England in 1824 by bricklayer Joseph Aspdin, and got the name Portland because when it hardened, it appeared to look very similar to the white Portland stone quarried along the Portland Isle coast of Dorset in southern England. Sorry, Oregon, you get no credit here.

When other silicates, such as sand or different sizes of stone, are added, the characteristics change, and the setting times and strength change as well. Ash has been added in some mixes, and glass fibers, another form of silica, have made our latest bridge and roadway construction projects extremely long-lasting and stronger.

Portland cement can be a part of concrete. To determine the reinforcing, the loads need to be applied to formulas, along with the amount of time and other forces, such as expansion and contraction (due to temperature changes), support material strength, shrinkage and internal stress — in other words, it would be irresponsible to throw some guess at you without knowing more. Keep in mind, more concrete is not better. Good luck!

© 2022 Monte Leeper

Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.

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The era of ‘Marcus Welby, M.D.’ is over

I’ll bet very few readers remember television shows like “Dr. Kildare” and “Marcus Welby.” Those popular shows featured physicians who made house calls and performed miracles of all kinds. There may be a few of these doctors left, but it’s only a matter of time until such dedicated physicians are no longer in existence. Like it or not, the business of medicine is changing rapidly, and not for the benefit of the average patient.

I recently experienced this sea change in medicine, when two of my doctors announced their retirement. One was my internal medicine doctor, who served me faithfully for 32 years, and the other was a neurologist who had monitored me for about five years. It was obvious from our parting conversations that they were exhausted and tired of the day-to-day stresses of serving patients.

If you visit almost any doctor’s office, you’ll notice that there are walls and

walls of files on display. They may signify how many patients your doctor serves, but they are also evidence of the amount of paperwork the average doctor must do to get paid by an insurance company. Once upon a time, insurance companies gave doctors an appropriate amount of money for the services they performed, but not anymore.

If you’re a doctor in New York City, you may get $1,000 for a medical procedure. But if you practice in, say, Smithtown, you may get paid $180, if you’re lucky. Geography makes a difference in reimbursement, and no rational observer of medicine will defend such an abominable system. These days, doctors need experienced staff members who have to deal with endless piles of documents, many of which are for small reimbursements. The daily practice of medicine isn’t a 9-to-5 operation. Many doctors take their charts home, to review medical histories and also to protect themselves from malpractice litigation. The business of suing doctors is a major enterprise, and the volume of litigation forces doctors to pay

outrageous fees for malpractice coverage. I’ve heard quite a few stories about doctors who quit the practice because they simply couldn’t afford the high premiums.

One way that a doctor can avoid some of these headaches is to become an employee of a hospital. That spares you the high insurance premiums, but life isn’t a bowl of cherries for the employed doctor, either. Large hospitals have rules upon rules, and they can mean plenty of paperwork, and having to handle a much larger caseload of patients then you ever had when you were on your own. One of my longtime, highly respected doctors has taken a leave of absence, because he’s now in his 80s and just can’t handle the caseload he’s been given. But hospitals are businesses, and they have every right to demand a high level of activity of their doctors.

There are many dedicated, newly minted doctors graduating from medical schools, but quite a few of them approach medicine much differently today than their forebears. Many young

doctors would prefer to work five days a week, with no weekend duty. They are willing to take less compensation and have more time for family, golf and vacations. They may be brilliant practitioners, but they don’t want to be so many Marcus Welbys.

And when we talk about medicine, we can’t forget about nurses. The recent strike at some major city hospitals was no surprise. I was in an ER recently, and found out that my nurse had 15 patients assigned to her. She was on the verge of a physical breakdown, but soldiered on, handling all of them with grace and patience. No doubt, she will get a large pay increase and a smaller patient workload, but it’s only fair to give her those benefits.

Like it or not, medicine is changing dramatically. In the next 10 years, we will see changes that we never dreamt of. Some will be good, and others bad. Let’s hope there are more good than bad.

Jerry Kremer was an assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? jkremer@liherald.com.

Folks scramble as the price of eggs soars nationwide

You can believe the hype. Last week, a boutique grocery on Manhattan’s Upper East Side was selling eggs for $17.99 a dozen. They weren’t Faberge eggs, dripping in diamonds and gilt. They were ordinary chicken-hatched, single-yolk, large “organic” eggs.

This news flash is courtesy of The Guardian newspaper in England, which loves to point out the crass and the crazy in American culture. It is given to gloating through stiff upper lips. Still, it has a point.

RANDI KREISS

Egg prices are heating up due to inflation, a surging avian flu epidemic and, some say, price gouging.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one year ago you could buy a dozen eggs for $1.72. Now, nationwide, the price averages $3.59. In some states like California, the average price is more than $7. Apparently in Manhattan, consumers have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. No more cheap, go-to weekday omelet dinners.

The current epidemic of avian flu is

the worst in history, according to NBC News. More than 53 million birds have died of the virus or been put to death. As so-far survivors of the coronavirus pandemic, we must wonder how vulnerable we humans are to this flu.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we’re probably safe. That’s not totally reassuring, but the avian flu has jumped to humans in only rare instances, and has passed from an infected person to other people in only extremely rare cases. Those who’ve contracted the flu after working around infected birds generally experienced mild symptoms, but the disease has been serious in a few people.

of Mexico to the U.S. I don’t know if it’s a Sinaloa cartel operation, but really? Smugglers in competition with the Easter Bunny?

I take my eggs very seriously. Omelets are a regular dinner in my home. I eat an egg every single day, over well, yolk broken. Lillybee the dog gets half a yolk.

Price gouging?

No more cheap, go-to weekday omelet dinners.

Somehow, I want to believe human beings should be OK, but after the waves of half-information and misinformation informing our health decisions in the midst of Covid, I want to keep an eye on this H5N1 virus. Even though it might seem cost-effective now to start raising chickens in our backyards, nah, it’s probably not a good idea.

Last week it was widely reported that dealers have been running eggs out

I had to give up eggs recently and temporarily (for a month) after my friend cracked an egg and discovered a tiny, blackened mini-chicken inside. So gross! I didn’t actually see the monstrosity, but I can’t get the image out of my head. She was so traumatized by the visitation that she gave up eggs forever.

We move on. The most expensive egg product I ever purchased was a painted $25 ostrich eggshell I brought back from South Africa to present to my granddaughter on her 13th birthday. I was feeling quite high-minded about the symbolism of feminism and new beginnings and eternal life. But she sat on it, and that was that.

Two weeks ago, I cracked an egg and discovered it was a double yolker. According to Cackle Hatchery, double yolks are quite rare. They hardly ever

result in two chickens being born, because the eggshell can’t accommodate twins. Still, they are prized for eating. Some boutique chicken farmers specialize in double yolkers, the source of which is a genetic mutation. You can hold a candle to an egg and see what’s inside if you really need to know. If you really want to know.

Hardboiled eggs are worth a book of their own. I always have a few hardcooked eggs in my fridge, you know, in case of nuclear attack or tornado strike. I read about an 83-year-old hiker years ago who hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine, eating hardboiled eggs he cooked on a tiny camping stove.

In the 1967 movie “Cool Hand Luke,” an outrageously defiant prisoner played by Paul Newman choked down 50 hardboiled eggs on a dare. A few people in real life tried to imitate the feat, and one died. But Joey Chestnut, the renowned competitive eater, consumed 141 eggs in eight minutes in a contest. Miki Sudo broke the women’s world record, eating 104 eggs.

Chestnut, who, remarkably, is still alive — I checked — took home a $1,500 grand prize, which seems not nearly enough.

Copyright 2023 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.

It was obvious from chats with my retiring doctors that they were exhausted.

JERRY KREMER

The tricky balance of fear and openness

it was like having security cameras in every room of a house but one. That’s how Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone described to reporters the decentralized, hodgepodge security infrastructure of the county’s computer network, which more than 10,000 government employees, in dozens of departments, depended on.

It was a single unguarded entryway that let hackers in last September, essentially shutting down all operations and reportedly costing Suffolk millions of dollars.

Such an intrusion is enough to scare any business or government entity into fortifying defenses. But is there such a thing as being too scared?

In the days following Suffolk’s revelation that it had been hacked, Bellone’s counterpart, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, bent over backward to ensure that the same thing won’t happen here. Or at least we think he has, given that the details of those efforts are a closely held secret.

What we do know is that the Legislature has hired a cybersecurity consultant. And that’s about it. Who that consultant is, what they have to offer — and, most important, how much it’s going to cost taxpayers — is information only a very select few know.

Revealing too many details about the new cybersecurity efforts could be troublesome, of course. The more information hackers have, the more likely they can

letters

Offner was on the mark

To the Editor:

Re Daniel Offner’s column last week, “We must remember — and teach — the Holocaust”: Offner’s description of his grandmother, “When she was liberated by American troops from Dachau in May 1945, she weighed 45 pounds,” brought back an old memory to me. I remember my dad speaking of two cousins, who somehow made it to America after surviving one of those Nazi killing centers in Poland. He described them as two young guys, each over six feet tall and weighing 200 pounds — combined.

They didn’t last much longer than a year here. The Nazis killed them; they just didn’t die immediately.

And now we have Holocaust deniers, in spite of the films, photos and documents that exist, in addition to the survivors, and the living veterans who aided in their liberation and survival. We also have politicians in both parties telling us lies daily. Now we even have to be aware of a “journalist’s” political affiliations, agenda and beliefs. Sadly, as Offner pointed out, the same goes

find ways to slip past Nassau’s defenses. Yet county officials refuse to say how revealing simple bits of information — like who the vendor is, and how much they’re charging — would help these cyber menaces. And they aren’t budging.

As well, the Herald learned last week that a closed-doors executive session called by the Legislature produced an emergency cybersecurity declaration — its mere existence classified.

It’s perfectly understandable why county officials are on edge, and they should be commended for acting quickly to build Nassau’s technological defenses. And while many of those details should be kept secret, not all of them should be.

There is a reason why who our government does business with — and at what cost — should be out in the open, for all to see. We bear the financial cost of that business, and have every right to ensure that every dollar is being spent appropriately.

Everything about the county’s contract with this mystery cybersecurity firm could be perfectly fine. And it most likely is. But the taxpayers’ right is absolute assurance, not a preponderance of confidence. We have the right — by law — to make sure the Legislature is doing an arm’s-length deal with the right company for the right price.

How was the firm chosen? How was its compensation negotiated? What is the county getting in return? Even if we can’t have specifics, there’s no reason we can’t be clued in on at least some general

aspects.

Shoshanah Bewlay, executive director of the state-funded Committee on Open Government, shared in an advisory opinion last month that details of the contract — like information technology schematics, blueprints, pricing or systems methodologies, and the types of IT monitoring or remediation — can indeed be kept quiet. “However, in our view,” Bewlay added, “it is not clear how the disclosure of other information contained within the contract — such as the name of the selected vendor, or value of the executed contract — would enable a person to adversely impact an agency’s electronic information or IT systems.”

Don’t get us wrong — we honestly believe there is no ill intention on the county’s part to withhold this information. Officials are scared that revealing any of it — even if it’s deemed safe — could upend all their efforts to protect the network. But they have to lift the cloak just enough to let the taxpayers — their true bosses — get a peek to assure themselves that all of this is on the up-and-up.

Nassau County is letting all of its hard work to build these defenses get obscured by this simple request to know who it is working with, and how much they are being paid for that work. That’s basic information that taxpayers shouldn’t even have to ask for.

But they are asking for it, and the county must do the right thing and provide the answer.

D’Esposito will get the job done in Washington e

arlier this month I had the privilege of speaking at the ceremonial swearing-in of newly elected U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito. Sitting on the stage that evening, I thought back to when I was first sworn in 30 years ago, and how different this night was from that one, and how different the world had become. This ceremonial event was held at the Nassau County police training center, in East Garden City, instead of in Washington, D.C., and the oath was administered by former Senator Al D’Amato instead of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

D’Esposito had been officially sworn in by McCarthy the week before, but that was at 2 a.m. on Jan. 7, following over four days and 15 ballots of voting in the most acrimonious contest for speaker since the 1850s, the decade preceding the Civil War. During my 28 years in Congress, I cast 14 ballots for speaker — one every two years. D’Esposito exceeded that total in his very first week in Congress!

This rancor and chaos is a sign of what Congress has become, and what D’Esposito must work through. Don’t get me wrong — Congress wasn’t all peace, love and harmony when I was elected. Soon-to-be House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Bill Clinton were firing political rockets at each other, and fiery cable news shows were emerging. But there wasn’t this level of intra-party disunity.

Nonetheless, D’Esposito’s situation isn’t entirely different from what I faced. We have several things in common. We both won close, hard-fought races. I won by 8,000 votes, a margin of 3 percent; D’Esposito by 10,000, or 3.9 percent. The bulk of my district was in the Town of Hempstead and Long Beach. D’Esposito’s district is entirely within those boundaries. And the challenges he will confront are similar to what I faced during my latter 20 years in Congress: preventing another Sept. 11, and fighting to get New York and Long Island their fair share of revenue. Fortunately, D’Esposito’s committee assignments — Homeland Security and Transportation & Infrastructure — position him well for the struggles

Letters

for our educational institutions.

I was lucky. The U.S. Navy took me to dozens of foreign nations. If you were born here, count your blessings. There are many tougher places to grow up in. Our most precious resource is America’s children. If we give them our honest best, freedom will reign.

JOHN SCHULTz Oceanside

It’s Santos, for better or worse

To the Editor:

At a news event on Jan. 11, a parade of Nassau County Republicans took the extraordinarily courageous step of calling on their colleague, U.S. Rep. George Santos, to resign. They suggested that he was not welcome at either their headquarters or their events. They indicated that their other congressional representatives would take it upon themselves to provide representation to the people of the 3rd District — the people Santos was elected to represent.

On Jan. 18, I received an email from my old friend Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who represents the 2nd District, in Suffolk County, advising me that I was one of his “new constituents” and assuring me that I could rely on his office’s

resources. Along with everyone else in northern Nassau and Queens, I live in Santos’s district. I am not officially a constituent of Garbarino’s.

In response, I emailed Andy Garbarino, “While I appreciate you reaching out, you are not my Congressional representative and I am not your ‘new constituent.’ George Santos, with whom and for whom you campaigned, is my Congressional representative. That fact is truly shameful. Thanks again and wishing you well.”

So, to Congressman Garbarino, with whom I worked in the Assembly before he was elected to the House of Representatives, I simply say, “Thanks but no thanks.” For better or worse, Santos is our congressman, and I expect him, perhaps unrealistically, to make some effort to try to live up to his responsibilities.

I am not inclined to reach out to the same Republican politicians who offer assistance but are simply attempting to shield themselves from criticism. As the old saying goes, once bitten, twice shy.

Should Santos be unresponsive to any requests I may have for assistance to the people I represent, I will reach out to Senators Chuck Schumer or Kirsten Gillibrand, or to any number of Democratic congressional representatives.

CHARLES LAvINE Assemblyman, 13th District

ahead.

The Homeland Security Committee was created in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 to coordinate federal, state and local counterterrorism efforts, and to provide necessary funding to areas at highest risk. Every threat analysis showed the New York City-Long Island region as the highestranked terrorist target in the country. Yet we had to fight off other states, which had zero threat levels, for every penny. As a former New York City police detective and Island Park fire chief, D’Esposito has the credentials and the gravitas to win those funding fights, and also to ensure that the committee’s legitimate concern about border control and illegal immigration doesn’t distract attention from the still very serious terrorist threat.

He will have similar struggles on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, to get fair and necessary funding for Long Island’s roads, highways, beaches and waterways.

Over the years, New York has been consistently shortchanged in federal funding, sending far more money to Washington than we get back. My short-

hand political analysis for this inequity was that Democrats took New York for granted and Republicans felt they couldn’t win it, so our hard-earned tax dollars were disbursed elsewhere — most notably, and disproportionately, to southern states. This shortfall in turn increased our state and local tax burden, which was exacerbated when a Republican Congress voted to dramatically reduce our SALT income tax deduction. D’Esposito has pledged to fight hard to restore that deduction.

Besides Homeland Security, infrastructure funding and restoring the SALT deduction, he will have to deal with countless other issues, including senior citizen and veterans benefits, 9/11 health care, tax relief for hardworking middle-income families and supporting law enforcement.

Being a member of Congress, and representing the people of Long Island and addressing their needs and challenges, was the experience of a lifetime for me. No one is more connected to his constituents than Anthony D’Esposito, and I know he will take their thoughts and concerns to the halls of Congress and get the job done. Good luck, Congressman.

Peter King is a former congressman, and a former chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Framework by Tim Baker

a newcomer to Congress has two solid committee assignments.